December 8, 2024 • 46 mins
(00:50) First up this week, Hannah Olsen, a familiar name from The Pittsburgh Dish (episode 005), joins us to share her latest passion project, Batches Bakehouse. This shared kitchen space in the Arlington neighborhood of Pittsburgh isn't just about baking; it's a support network where local small bakers thrive. Discover the story behind the bakehouse's inception, and get a sneak peek at their upcoming holiday pop-up event, a must-visit bake sale for anyone looking to support local artisans during the festive season.
(09:49) We then introduce Julian Figaretti and HongChing Cheung, the dynamic duo behind Healthy Heartbeats. These food innovators have crafted a health-centric product using beet powder, chia seeds, and hemp seeds, aiming to revolutionize how we think about nutrition. Listen as they share their journey through the Fulton Commons food accelerator program and their nascent experience into markets. With Julian's expertise in production and HongChing's flair for digital marketing, they exemplify how a perfect partnership can bring a unique product to life.
(32:52) We unveil the personal backstories of Julian and HongChing that led them to their current business. From Julian's roots with a family-owned restaurant to HongChing's family culture from Hong Kong to Pittsburgh, their stories highlight the power of family and food in entrepreneurship. Join us, and let these stories inspire your entrepreneurial journey.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Doug (00:01):
Welcome to The Pittsburgh Dish.
I'm your host, Doug Heilman.
Have you ever thought aboutcreating and selling your own
original food product?
We talk to the businesspartners of Healthy Heartbeets
and learn about their journey.
But first up, do you need somehelp with your holiday baking?
Maybe it's not your strong suit.
(00:23):
Help with your holiday bakingMaybe it's not your strong suit.
Well, we catch up withPittsburgh Dish guest alum
Hannah Olsen and learn howBatch's Bakehouse might be able
to help you out.
All that ahead, stay tuned.
The Pittsburgh Dish issupported by Chip and Kale
plant-based meals.
Head to their website at www.
chipandkale.
com and use code DISH to save onyour next order.
(00:47):
Now on to the show.
Let's give a call to our friendHannah Olsen of Aycho Melange
Macarons.
She recently opened a sharedbaking space for small makers
like her and they're starting todo pop-ups for the holidays and
other special events.
Let's give her a call.
Hannah (01:09):
Hey, Doug.
Doug (01:10):
Hey, hannah, how are you?
Hannah (01:12):
I'm doing good.
How are you?
Doug (01:13):
I'm great.
It is so nice to hear yourvoice.
It's been too long.
Hannah (01:17):
I know it has been a little bit, but we've both been
very busy, so it'sunderstandable.
Doug (01:21):
Right, so I really wanted to catch up with you, since we
talked last way back on episodefive.
Since then you can you believethat I know it's been so long
You've opened a shared bakingspace.
Can you remind our listenerswhat the name is?
Hannah (01:37):
Yeah, of course.
So my shared kitchen is Batch'sBakehouse.
Doug (01:41):
Okay, and so now this is the home of your macaron making
Aycho Melange Macarons andseveral other smaller makers
like you.
Is that right?
Hannah (01:51):
Yes, correct, so I was my very first tenant, so I mean,
you know, I had to believe inmyself, of course.
So Aycho Melange does operateout of the Bakehouse, as well as
, at this point, about sevenother businesses, and we have
two that are waiting on theirturn to get through the
Allegheny County HealthDepartment system.
(02:11):
So by the end of the year we'llhopefully have nine people on
board, which is astounding to me.
You know, I was really hopingwhen I started I think I got my
license at the end of June toget the bakehouse open.
So to have this many peoplethat have responded to this
little bakehouse and show theneed for it has just been like
(02:32):
so great.
But yeah, we have.
We have a lot of great bakersand we actually even have an
alumni member already.
Evanly Bakes was with us for ashort time while he had his
Honeycomb fundraiser and got hisnew shop up and running.
So we're so proud of him andhis new bakery in New Kensington
that literally just opened.
I believe over the weekend theyhad their soft opening.
(02:54):
So, it's amazing.
Doug (02:56):
Yeah, as we're recording, we're just past the sort of
Black Friday weekend and I willsay Evanly Bakes is on my list
of folks to talk to.
Hannah (03:04):
He would be a great candidate to talk to.
He has a great story and he'sjust very well-spoken.
I love Evan, so definitelyrecommend you chat with him.
Doug (03:13):
Well, I want to get back to you too.
Can you remind our listenerssome of the places that they can
pick up your macarons right now?
Hannah (03:20):
Oh yeah, of course.
So you can get Aycho Melangemacarons a few doors down from
the bakehouse at Hilltop Coffee.
They were my very firstwholesale partner and I'm so
proud to still have them onboard.
We also sell retail packs atArm Full Flowers.
We often have packs at TheCheese Queen over on Brownsville
Road.
We sell individual macaronsthrough Carnegie Coffee and
(03:45):
seasonally in the summers wepartner with Frosty Cone in
Elizabeth PA to do Macaron IceCream Sandwiches and, I'm sure,
oh and Generosta off theWarrendale exit, Generosta Cafe.
Oh yeah, I need to keep abetter running list because I'm
always like adding one more atthe end when I remember.
Doug (03:59):
Well, you're doing really well off the cuff, because you
didn't know I was going to askthat.
Oh, thank you.
I want to ask one more question.
So I know you have these nineor so bakers and the bakehouse
itself is not necessarily forretail, but you're starting to
do pop-ups.
I know you did one in aroundthe Thanksgiving time and you're
going to do one coming up soon.
Can you remind us first whereis Batch's Bakehouse located?
Hannah (04:24):
Great question, great place to start.
So Batch's Bakehouse is inArlington, the neighborhood of
Arlington, in the city ofPittsburgh, on Arlington Avenue.
A lot of people think when Isay that their first reaction is
oh, like over by Ala Familia.
We're actually kind of on theother end, maybe like a mile
away from there.
We're right next to HilltopCoffee in Rainy Days Hair Salon.
Doug (04:46):
Perfect and you are having an upcoming event more for,
like, the holiday and Christmasseason, and when is that
happening?
Hannah (04:54):
So we are having our second pop-up bakehouse bake
sale on Sunday, December 22nd.
It'll be from 11 am to 2 pm andthe way it works is all of the
member businesses that areavailable will have their own
little pop-up table.
And we invite the neighborhood,we invite all of our customers
(05:15):
and friends you know everybodyto come into the bakehouse,
which you typically can't do butto come in and meet the members
and shop their goods.
And it's a really good way,especially positioning it right
before the holiday, as we didfor the first one and this one
to kind of like stock up and getall of the different goods you
might want for brunch or for anevening event or for gifting,
(05:35):
all in one space.
And obviously it encouragesthese mostly very new businesses
to keep going and it helps themgrow and it gives them exposure
.
And it was really great and youknow it's.
It was really great the firstevent we did.
I was obviously very nervous,because that's the kind of
person I am, but you know it wasmy first event.
You never know how it's goingto go, who's going to show up,
(05:56):
and we had five of our vendorsparticipate.
Every single one of them soldat least 98% of the product they
brought, or all of it, most ofthem totally sold out and I it
was just so great that in thewhole reason for doing this
pop-up it's not for the bakehouses benefit, it's for the
small businesses.
So to see their reaction andyou know it went so well that
they said can we do this againnext month?
(06:18):
So we decided that we would doanother one for Christmas and
then we'll we'll pick a dateafter that, maybe for, like
Valentine's day, but it'llhopefully be something that we
can continue to have as long asthere's interest shown for our
members.
Doug (06:34):
How wonderful.
I love the timing, especiallyfor folks that are not bakers or
cookie makers or something.
They can come by really soon,pick something up and get to
know some of those vendors andthen, just like you told us
where you vend regularly, Iimagine some of these other
bakers also have other spotsthat folks can go to to pick up
their goods.
Hannah (06:54):
Oh, definitely.
Yeah, we had several peoplecoming in for the event we had
just before Thanksgiving andthey said my family's in town,
I'm not doing desserts, I don'tknow how to bake, can I just get
?
And they bought like somethingfrom all of the tables.
Julian (07:08):
And.
Hannah (07:08):
I know you have exactly and Scone Ranger did take and
bake dozens and I know they'redoing that again for this event,
as well as having fresh scones,and I know that they just met
so many new fanatics, becauseonce you have one, it changes
your life.
Doug (07:22):
There are such good products and you are helping
this person who has this passionto do a thing and do it really
well.
Hannah (07:31):
Yeah, that's.
I think my favorite thing aboutthe Bakehouse in general is
that it is really showcasing andgiving, I guess, a platform to
these small businesses that areusually hyper focusedfocused on
a product or a good, and they doit so well because they have a
great story behind it, they havepassion behind it and it's just
a super special, you know,unique product and story that
(07:56):
they can give to a customerthrough their food.
So it is, it's just, it's socool.
Doug (08:01):
I love it so much.
And, Hannah, I just want tomake sure that folks know if
they want to find and follow theBakehouse, where would you
point them to in terms of socialmedia or website, that kind of
thing?
Hannah (08:13):
For the website, you can look up Bakehouse PGH.
com.
And then for socials.
We're on Facebook and Instagram.
Both are Batches Bakehouse.
You'll see our big purple logowith a B as our little profile
badge, so you'll know you're atthe right spot.
Doug (08:32):
Oh, how perfect.
And just a little side note ifyou do have another aspiring
baker vendor creator out therethat would want to join in, is
it the website that they can goto then to find more information
?
Hannah (08:43):
Oh, definitely, yeah, we have an intake form on the
website that they can go to thento find more information.
Oh, definitely, yeah, we havean intake form on the website.
If there's anybody that'sinterested in joining the
Bakehouse or just chatting about, you know what's involved.
If you're new to the idea ofhaving a business, I would
definitely recommend that.
I'm always happy to answerquestions over DM.
But if you fill out the intakeform, that will kind of
eliminate a lot of the follow upback and forth.
All right, kind of eliminate alot of the follow-up back and
forth.
Doug (09:04):
All right.
Hannah Olsen, thank you so muchfor everything you're doing,
not only with your own business,making macarons, which are
amazing, but also providing thespace for so many other aspiring
bakers and creators out there.
Hannah (09:18):
Oh my gosh.
Well, of course, and thank youfor the kind words that's, I
love it and you know I justappreciate that it's helping
people, so I can't wait.
Hopefully we'll see you at thebake sale and anyone listening.
I know I know we're.
It's a very busy time of yearbut for anyone listening, if you
come by, let us know if youheard about it on the podcast.
We'll have a little specialsomething for you, for sure we
(09:39):
would love that.
Doug (09:41):
Hannah Olsen, thank you so much once again for being on
The Pittsburgh Dish and happyholidays of course you too.
Up next.
I first met our next two guestswhen I was invited to Fulton
Commons as a panelist judge forfolks that are creating their
own small businesses, typicallyaround consumer packaged food
(10:01):
goods.
Let's hear more about thejourney of business partners
Julian and Hong Ching withHealthy Heartbeats.
Thank you both so much forcoming over and for being on the
show.
Would you take a moment just tointroduce yourselves?
Julian (10:16):
Sure, I am Julian Figaretti from Wheeling West
Virginia.
HongChing (10:21):
My name is HongChing Cheung and I'm from Pittsburgh,
PA.
Doug (10:25):
And can you describe for our listeners what you have
going on right now in the worldof food?
Julian (10:32):
Yes, absolutely so.
We have a very fun healthyproduct called Healthy
Heartbeets, spelled like thevegetable, yeah, b-e-e-t-s.
Yep, it is featuring beetpowder, which is amazing for you
, and then it's just beet powder, chia seeds and hemp seeds, so
three actually natural foods.
(10:52):
Three natural foods very goodfor you and are just a great
addition to your diet in yourlife.
Doug (10:59):
I love it.
I met you all at Fulton Commons.
You've gone through the foodaccelerator program there to
develop this product and haveyou finished that?
HongChing (11:09):
program we did yeah.
Doug (11:12):
What do we call it?
Consumer packaged good.
Consumer packaged food product.
I know folks probably haven'theard of your product that much
yet, so we're going to talkabout it in detail.
But if they are interestedright away in buying the product
, is it available for sale rightnow?
Julian (11:28):
Yep right on the website .
Okay.
Doug (11:29):
And so we'll talk about the website later.
And I also noticed did you guysrecently do some farmer's
markets?
Are you starting into that aswell?
Julian (11:37):
As many tabling opportunities as we could get
and luckily Fulton Commonsstarted a new farmer's market.
Yes and we were able to get aspot there and table and
everything.
Doug (11:48):
How did that go?
HongChing (11:49):
Oh, that was wonderful.
It was our first time um and wegot a lot of great feedback and
they love the packaging um, butwe've done it twice with them,
right, right, yeah.
And we have um had otheropportunities too, with mind
fuel as well, um, just you know,again tabling, meeting new
people, kind of allying with thehealth and wellness, so it's
(12:11):
been a great opportunity.
Julian (12:12):
And she's being bashful.
She did a fantastic job withthe whole setup for the table
and everything and we got a lotof compliments on that itself,
especially when people would askus and find out this was our
first tabling event.
They're like, oh my gosh, thislooks so good Well let me ask
that.
Doug (12:32):
So you guys are partners in this endeavor.
How do you divide the work here, or is it sort of still up in
the air?
HongChing (12:39):
It's interesting because I think we play by our
strengths.
Doug (12:42):
Yes.
HongChing (12:43):
And it kind of just fell into place.
Again I'd say we're prettyopposite of each other, oh, okay
.
Yeah, like you know, again,he's such more of an extrovert
and more of introvert, um, butwe, we do well in those roles
and it kind of like puts aproduct together.
Um, I said we haven't foughtyet but we're, we're waiting,
(13:03):
we're waiting to fight.
It's gonna happen eventually,um, but in terms of roles, um, I
do most of the um, I guess,like behind the scenes, like the
marketing part.
Yes, digital marketing thewebsite more of the operations
and I like behind the scenes,like the marketing part, digital
marketing the website more ofthe operations.
And I mean Julian can talk onhis behalf about the production
part.
Julian (13:21):
Yeah, so I have a bit of a food background and so I was
taking on the production side ofthings in the kitchen, setting
up how things are going to go inthere, try to figure out the
best process and all the littlethings like that to make it flow
smoothly.
Doug (13:40):
Do you put the product together in the Fulton Commons
kitchen?
Yes, oh yeah, it's an amazingfacility.
Julian (13:46):
It is yeah, pittsburgh is very much lacking in like
that part of the infrastructurefor consumer packaged goods, in
like that part of theinfrastructure for consumer
packaged goods, cpgs and theyare definitely one of like the
nicest bridges into that realm.
Yeah.
Doug (14:01):
Having that certified kitchen and it's a shared space.
A lot of folks rent a littleparticular part of the space,
but you have all kinds ofequipment if you need it and
storage cold and hot and allthat wonderful stuff.
Oh yeah, they did it upright,that's for sure.
So, Julian, you mentioned thatthere's a lot of health benefits
to the product.
Julian (14:22):
I would just like to explore for our listeners how
folks use your product to how Istarted using the product and
had like kind of the inceptionof this idea was back in 2017 or
2018.
My parents bought a beet powderproduct off of a commercial
(14:44):
okay, and.
I was like oh.
I don't know.
And then I started using it andit turns out this stuff
actually really works.
It helps out with blood flow.
It has a lot of nitric oxideand blood flows through your
body better, has a lot of healthbenefits.
But it really helps out withphysical activities as well and
I'm a very active person and Iwould be doing like two, three
(15:06):
or four sports in a day and Idefinitely noticed a big
difference in just like how muchendurance I had, how quickly I
recovered in during sports andall sorts of stuff.
Doug (15:19):
Beets naturally lower blood pressure a little bit too.
So it's not just for someonethat's going out and doing all
the sports, but anyone that'slooking to have a healthier
moment in their diet right.
Julian (15:30):
Yeah, that's one thing we've talked about with our
marketing is that people aretrying to be healthier and
figure that out, and it doesn'thave to be a complete overhaul
of your entire life andeverything you eat.
If you could just start to dolittle things like that, like
one scoop in something youalready eat, you know, you just
did good for your body yeah, andthe chia and the hemp.
Doug (15:53):
Keep me honest, it's.
It's adding some fiber, othernutrients in there as well right
.
Julian (15:58):
Oh yeah, they're packed with nutrients.
Hemp seeds are one of the onlycomplete proteins in the plant
world.
I know there's others out there.
And then they have vitamins andminerals, iron they both have
omegas, which are really goodfor you, high in fiber, and just
like the list goes on with allthe micronutrients.
They have going on Wonderful.
Doug (16:19):
Hongqing.
How have you seen folks use theproduct?
Are there any recipes or thingsthat you're putting it into to
give a wide variety of use?
HongChing (16:29):
Yeah, so definitely is a challenge for our customers
to figure out what to use.
We try to like kind of givethem a gateway is like OK, like
smoothies.
Smoothies are your basic,simple way to add nutrition.
But I know not everyone's intosmoothies.
So we have actually developedsome recipes together to kind of
(16:50):
make it more versatile.
So, for example, I have addthis um making my hummus, oh
yeah yeah, so it's a veryinteresting um.
I mean, it's the same texture,just a little bit more seeds
around um, but it's such avibrant color, like when you dip
your chips in.
It's just a lot more fun, it'svery instagrammable.
Doug (17:08):
Yes, it really is I like that idea of having the, the
hemp and the chia in hummus togive it a little crunch to the
hummus.
HongChing (17:15):
Yes, and that kind of goes the same, because I've
eaten rice most of my life, it'sjust kind of part of my culture
, so I've been adding that to myrice as well.
And it has been giving thisreally vibrant, soft orange
coral color.
If you add more, of course, itwould be a deeper pink.
But the seeds, again the crunch, kind of adds that texture.
(17:40):
It's like how you would addrice and quinoa together to kind
of have that texture.
Similar effect.
Um, just made the dish justknow a lot more beautiful.
And again, it's like one stepat a time.
You know it's it's not likewe're doing a full overhaul of
your diet, let's just changeeverything about it, but we're
just slowly incorporating itinto your daily life until
you're comfortable enough tolike move forward with other,
just like healthier habits.
Doug (18:00):
It's just like a new fun ingredient, I think, and you
guys offered me a sample mixedin with yogurt and it looked
amazing, like you said, with thecolor and that little bit of
texture.
I did take a look on yourwebsite and did I also see
pancakes or muffins?
HongChing (18:16):
Pancakes and muffins are a big big one.
Like people who who likes tobake and love to eat muffins in
the morning, they can easilyjust add that into their recipe.
We also have done like peoplewith like sweet tooth, like
cookies are a big one.
Sugar cookies simple recipe.
And it just turns it super pinkwith, like again, a bunch of
(18:37):
seeds.
Doug (18:38):
I know we have done something with like Jak's bakery
um oh yeah, bread over inBloomfield, yes, oh, that's cool
, it's a novel product.
I think you were telling methere are beet powders but there
is nothing on the market withthe chia and the hemp seed too.
So you're giving that textureand that extra protein and other
nutrients.
And I always think about when Igo to a grocery store and I do
(19:01):
buy a new ingredient for thefirst time.
It takes me a while to figureout where I want to use it.
Aside from baking or throwingit in your hummus and your
yogurt and your rice, are thereany other applications you've
seen folks use your product forsome people will just put it in
water, mix it up and drink it.
Julian (19:18):
Okay and uh, or like even hot water, drink it kind of
like tea, like a tea, and thenscoop out the seeds at the end
they love it.
They're just like it's a nicelittle snack.
Oh, wow, um.
And then another friend of ours, that's a customer, would put
it with their peanut butter andmix it in like that.
Yeah, I like this.
Doug (19:38):
Now I do want to say I love beets, but some folks
sometimes don't love thatearthiness of a fresh beet, or
even a fresh cooked beet.
So true, but this is different.
It's a milder flavor.
It doesn't overpower whatyou're mixing it into, correct,
would you agree?
HongChing (19:56):
yeah, just I would like to say that we're like beet
converters you're beetconverters.
I love that because we havegiven out samples where you know
people dislike beets and it'slike oh, actually it's a very
subtle taste yes, I guess, ifyou like, make it right.
You know like you could add asmuch as you want or as less as
you like, and you know you kindof play with your palate a bit.
(20:16):
I mean, we definitely have somemixed reviews from the kids,
but that's like you know that'skids, yeah, but some.
some are surprising, like somekids actually like it.
I think it's partly that youknow if you don't tell them
what's in it?
Doug (20:31):
they like it more until they find out it's like a
vegetable, oh yeah yeah, yeah,sometimes you got to sneak it in
and I think, yes, since it issuch a vibrant color, you
actually might have a good leadfirst to just show, like these
cookies that are bright pink,and then let them try it, and
then maybe tell them later ormaybe don't tell them at all.
Julian (20:48):
So yeah, the one, uh, the one couple with their kids.
They are pretty picky and theonly vegetable they could get in
their diet is to mix spinachwith muffins.
Oh, wow.
And they're like okay, thisgoes perfectly in the muffins
and we're going to be able tofigure out how to hide this in
other things.
So their kids actually eat somevegetables, which is such a
(21:11):
great application.
I can relate, because I was anincredibly picky kid and did not
have good nutrition.
For sure I wouldn't eatanything, and now you're a
convert.
Oh yeah, Such a convert.
There's almost nothing that Iwon't eat or try.
Doug (21:26):
What I love about this story is it's those little moves
that you said earlier.
You're just getting people tokind of step in a little closer
into healthy lifestyle or throwthis secret ingredient into
something to make it a littlehealthier.
So I think it's veryapproachable.
I also love that we talkedabout it being both for sweet or
savory items, because there isno sugar.
(21:46):
We are talking truly just threeingredients, right?
Yes, oh, that's amazing.
Julian (21:52):
Yeah, people love that.
Doug (21:53):
On a package now ingredients right, yes, oh,
that's amazing.
Yeah, people love that on apackage.
Now I I did want to say I wantto take a step back.
You had mentioned about thepackaging.
Your logo is super cute.
Who did that little beet heartlogo?
Julian (22:04):
so I had uh like a vision for that over the years
to try to mix like a heart and abeet together, okay, uh.
And then I've had like a couplepeople draw stuff for me and
then I just went on fiverr andhad a freelancer do that up for
me it was super easy.
It was like, okay, this is,this is right in the ballpark of
(22:25):
what I wanted, and then we hada graphic designer do like an
initial package for us and like,clean that logo up.
Doug (22:32):
Yeah.
Julian (22:33):
And there we go.
That's.
That's where the logo came from.
Doug (22:36):
The packaging looks really beautiful the latest one that I
saw.
Oh, thank you.
HongChing (22:40):
Thank you.
Doug (22:41):
You're actually stepping me into my next sort of train of
thought opening a business andcreating a product from an idea.
Can you tell us a little bitmore about that journey?
Where did it start?
How did you get going?
Where do you feel you are rightnow?
HongChing (22:57):
So I guess different timelines here.
I kind of came on to thebusiness a bit later, but I'm
going to have Julian talk aboutthe beginnings.
I guess how we met might be theflourishing part of it.
Julian (23:10):
Oh yeah, definitely, I was on my own for a long time.
I had the initial idea incollege, back in like 2018, that
I wanted to start a business ofsome sort and I was really
interested in industrial hemp atthe time.
Okay, and my family comes fromfood like we have a restaurant
(23:31):
and everything, oh, wow.
So I figured, okay, okay, I'llgo, I'll go the food route and
I'll do.
Hemp seeds started.
The llc.
That realized very quicklycan't really compete with these
giant companies that are alreadyselling that and whatnot.
So I was like, okay, I have todo something else and make
something new.
And and that coincided withwhat I mentioned earlier trying
(23:55):
beet powder for the first timeand I was like, okay, can I?
Is this in anything else?
And it wasn't like it was justa supplement at the time and I
was like, oh my gosh, I think Ihave something here.
Doug (24:07):
Light bulb moment.
Julian (24:07):
Yeah, for real.
I can almost remember themoment that that happened and I
started experimenting and tryingto figure out what I can make
and I knew I wanted toincorporate the hemp seeds and
the beet powder.
Chia seeds just kind ofnaturally ended up in there.
And.
I made a drink out of it, whichI'm not a food scientist, so
(24:29):
didn't know how to make thatshelf stable.
It was definitely really good.
Would love to do that productin the future.
But then I just played withthat recipe and made a snack out
of it, these little strips thatactually launched that product
on the market two or three yearsago now, I forget, and that did
you know.
Moderately okay, but I didn'thave a great plan, not that
(24:53):
organized of a person myself, soit was kind of amazing.
I even made it that far aloneand worked on that for a little
while, a little more than a year, and the production side of
things because there's adehydration component makes it
way like very long, a littletricky, a little tricky to get
(25:13):
all that right and to get intoplaces.
So then I put that product onpause and not long after around
the time I put it on pause, alsohad the idea wonder if people
would just buy this as a powder.
And then, uh, HongC hing stepson the scene.
Uh, thank god.
(25:34):
Uh.
So I work at a climbing gym intown iron city boulders and she
was doing some marketing for thegym and we just ended up in a
conversation and I had mentionedthat I was doing.
Uh, you know, I had a foodbusiness and she was like do you
want some help?
HongChing (25:52):
oh so, I think what like I guess a few steps back.
I was working for a digitalmarketing firm for about three
years, so I did a lot of likeGoogle ads, facebook, social
media and I just noticed that,like my work and life balance
wasn't really up to just itwasn't really great for me
personally and I loved what Idid.
(26:13):
So it was really hard to partways just at the moment, but I
did just like trying to realignmyself and figure out like what
other things I'd like to do ormy routines and just eating
(26:35):
healthier and being more active.
After I resigned from my job,so I took on freelance work.
Julian (26:43):
And.
HongChing (26:43):
I was working with Iron City Boulders with their
marketing.
They didn't have anything setup at the time so it was really
fun for me to just be able toexplore different ideas and kind
of like pitch it out there andsee what works and didn't work,
just using my knowledge highlycreative.
Yeah, it was, it was like abreath of fresh air to just
learn.
Take everything I learned andlike recreate it to to my
(27:06):
standards how I won it andthat's I know.
I've heard that Julian here hada business and, you know, since
I was like freelancing, I'mstill trying to figure out
myself it was like, oh, I havetime, I have.
You know, like I want to learnother type of skills, so I
offered um Julian, like, hey,like, would you like to get your
website redone for free?
Doug (27:27):
just I was like please help me oh my gosh, this is the
side that you had been missing,Julian.
Julian (27:32):
Oh, so much so I had been asking the world for a
partner for so long, so itfinally got heard.
HongChing (27:39):
It was really funny because I actually started like
the first week of January ofthis year.
We were very consistent, youknow.
I was like, okay, look, I'mwilling to help, I love
marketing.
So like, if you're about this,I will go in on you with this.
So you're, if you're about this, I will go in on you with this.
So you know he gave me a sampleto try again, this is just a
website, so I wasn't like soinvested the time.
(28:00):
It's like, okay, I'm just heretrying to like improve my
skillset and you know I try theproduct and it's like, oh, I
really like this Like.
I never really got into beets.
It's not a vegetable I wouldpick up from the grocery store
(28:20):
out of the blue.
So trying the sample for thefirst time, just like adding it
again.
Okay, the first time I had it, Ikind of just ate it out of the
sample packet because, like.
I like the mix.
Yeah, it's a little crunchy,it's a bit country I didn't add
it to what?
no, I just I, I liked the way itactually just like felt good
texture, good texture.
I was definitely great textureand after that I was like, oh,
like.
Julian (28:33):
I liked the way it actually just like felt Good
texture, good texture.
I was shocked Definitely greattexture.
HongChing (28:36):
And after that I was like, oh, like I'm seeing the
benefits like alongside with,like being healthier and eating,
like being more active andeating healthier and having a
sample and like consistentlyusing it for I guess, until it
was gone, like I definitely feltthere was an improvement in my
energy.
It's like, oh, the more I workedworked the website too the more
I really aligned with, like youknow, the health benefits I
(28:59):
just aligned with, like thevision yes um, that julian had,
and it just, you know, reallymade a lot of sense that we
partnered up, and you know,again, we're both very opposite
of each other, so it really putus in a great spot.
Yes, to develop this producteven farther.
Doug (29:14):
A great compliment to one another, yeah.
Julian (29:18):
This is Julian Figaretti .
HongChing (29:20):
And this is HongChing Cheung.
We're the co-owners of HealthyHeartbeats, and you're listening
to The Pittsburgh Dish.
Doug (29:28):
I wanted to ask too when did you get into Fulton, into
that program of the accelerator?
It's like a speaking series,isn't it?
And then they give you a coupleof tasks to do.
Julian (29:41):
Yes, so they started out .
This was the second yearthey've done something like this
.
Initially they only had anincubator which is a little bit
shorter.
Typically if you have an ideaor a concept and now you need to
know a bunch of knowledgearound that in a business in
that industry.
So they put that on in May andDarcy, the girl that was running
(30:04):
it, she had reached out becauseshe had somehow heard that I
had a business.
Doug (30:10):
And you were a little further along, maybe than even
what this incubator was meant todo, right?
Julian (30:14):
yeah, just a little bit, because we had the LLC
established and working off ofthat and, you know, pretty much
had a product, just didn't haveall the rest of the stuff around
it yet.
Yes, the support, yes HongChing support yes 100 percent, uh
.
And so then we got into theincubator in May and that was
(30:36):
the first round of gettingthrough that process and, you
know, relearning a bunch ofstuff, because I studied
business in college but havingit focused on, you know, food
and packaged foods was reallygood.
Food and packaged foods wasreally good.
So then we went back for theaccelerator program, which is
longer, more in-depth, and endedup pitching at that contest and
(30:58):
that's where we met you.
That's right.
Both of the events.
HongChing (31:02):
So we've been through a far journey since we started,
even with the first incubatorprogram.
I know the accelerator programis the one that we finished off.
We both, of course, havebusiness um in college as well,
but it's a great refresher to tokind of learn back the basic
and go back to the drawing boardand just kind of like check off
things that we have done orhaven't done.
(31:24):
And with that first program Ifeel like we have like
established so much on the like,I guess, governmental part of
it, you know, getting all theforms ready and my favorite the
legal, the legal side of things.
Yeah the legal side things andhad definitely opened up our
eyes about, like rebranding ourpackage um just like figuring
out if this is like the rightmaterial for our package or
(31:46):
should we go with the box, andso you know, like that helped us
just kind of a baseline ofthings.
So when we went into a sellerprogram we were more like put
together, and so now we havethese other questions I can like
add on top of what we werealready doing.
Doug (32:02):
So much growth since you started.
I would imagine, too, going toschool for business but not
having your own product or yourown business at the time.
Right, it's very hypothetical.
But going through these otherprograms, you had the prize
already in mind.
You have this business and thisproduct that you're working on,
so what could be better?
Right?
Julian (32:21):
Oh, yeah, for sure.
If you're going into anindustry and actually pursuing
an idea, find a program likethat.
There is definitely anincubator in a city somewhere
close by that is in yourindustry, and learning in person
like that is so beneficialthrough that consumer packaged
(32:42):
food product, if that's whatyou're looking to do.
Doug (32:43):
So I wanted to pivot a little bit.
We've heard a little bit aboutwhere you're from, but I'd love
to ask more, just about the bothof you.
Julian, I think I've picked up.
You're from West Virginia, wentto school for business.
I was curious when youmentioned your family had a
(33:04):
restaurant.
Tell me a little bit more aboutthat.
Julian (33:06):
Yeah, absolutely.
The family restaurantFigaretti's in wheeling west
virginia, started in 1949 whoayeah, it's been around quite a
while now.
Uh, my grandfather and his fourbrothers they basically quit
where they were doing andstarted a restaurant and then my
great-grandmother was the onewho, like, originally, made the
(33:27):
sauce and everything that kindof stuff at the time.
I'm pretty sure it got my greatuncles.
A couple of them were doingdifferent things, so everybody
just went in together the whole,all the relatives, just piled
into this venture yeah, and sothen that's been a staple of
wheeling for a very long timenow and back in I'm forgetting
(33:50):
the dates but like the 80s orthe 90s my one cousin started
the sauce factory and jarringthe sauce selling that around
town.
And then he's grown that overthe years and now his brother is
the owner of the restaurant.
They work in conjunctiontogether.
So Sauce Factory obviouslyprovides all the sauce and
(34:11):
everything and the meatballs,that kind of stuff.
They do a lot of thatproduction and then, uh, the
restaurant is a staple, stillgoing strong, still going strong
.
Doug (34:21):
And say it again, figure eddie's restaurant in wheeling,
in wheeling all right, there'smy, there's our, there's our
restaurant of the week, probablyshameless plug.
Julian (34:28):
Of course we have to.
Doug (34:31):
So, Julian, you really grew up in food all your life
and you're venturing out into atotally different direction in
this like health product kind ofoh yeah, food.
All right, I love it.
And did you go to school inwest virginia?
Yeah, at WVU all right forbusiness yep, okay, yeah, I
bounced around to.
Julian (34:49):
That was my fifth major that.
Doug (34:51):
I ended on.
Sometimes we've got to findourselves.
Julian (34:54):
Oh yeah, for sure, major number one, finance, was not
happening for me.
I was like wait, no, this isn'twhat I thought it was.
Doug (35:03):
And I also you mentioned you have a healthy lifestyle,
did I see?
Rock climbing is like a thingfor you, right?
Yeah, this is why beet powderand all of its benefits really
help out.
Julian (35:12):
It is very pertinent to the sports that I do.
For sure, my main sportsnowadays are rock climbing, of
course, like I coach our youthteam and do some private
coaching, but I also lovewhitewater sports.
You know the season, you knowwhen it's a little warmer I
don't do any winter boating.
It's a little chilly.
Yeah, it's a little late inseason't do any winter boating a
(35:33):
little chilly.
Yeah, it's a little late inseason for me.
I don't have a dry suit oranything okay um, and then
running basketball, disc golf,tennis, a lot, of, a lot of
sports.
I like to dabble a couplethings, just a couple, yeah hong
ching you mentioned you grew upin pittsburgh yes, um, I
actually immigrated here when Iwas two years old.
HongChing (35:52):
Yeah, my family and I are originally from Hong Kong.
Okay, so our aunt sponsored usand we're in the United States,
but the rest is history.
Most of my family, my mom andmy dad, are both all in Hong
Kong, so we're the only familyhere, beyond my aunt and my
uncle, and did you go to schoollocally as well.
(36:14):
I did.
I went to Chatham University.
I also kind of like switchedaround like Julian did.
I did start out withinternational business but then,
like, based on the job market,I was like, oh gosh, maybe I'm
not going to find a job here.
So I went to accounting andthen about, I think, my junior
year, I realized how much Ihated accounting.
It just wasn't really for me.
(36:35):
It was like, oh, this, thisisn't really, uh, aligned with
what I really wanted.
So I switched to marketing.
But I still love the likeinternational background of it.
So I of course, ended up justdouble majoring the
international business andmarketing of course you did like
it just aligned well, like witheach other.
It's like oh, okay, I do likethis.
(36:57):
And yeah, I mean I dabbled infood.
I guess, like throughoutcollege and even high school I
worked in a lot of umrestaurants.
Okay, like my dad was a a cookas well, so he always was the
one to um cook dinner for usevery night.
So I had a lot of homemade,like Chinese cuisine meals that
I still like make today andagain, it's so strange to say
(37:19):
this, but like, as a child Iwasn't really about eating rice
every day.
Doug (37:23):
It's like oh, this is so annoying.
HongChing (37:24):
Like I want a hamburger, like everybody else,
so I want pasta.
Doug (37:27):
Yeah, you wanted to be the westernized kids that you were
probably going to school withExactly.
HongChing (37:32):
And so, as I've grown and it's like wow, actually I
just want to eat rice.
It's plain, it's simple, I canchange up the veggies, change up
the protein.
But he, of course I haveinfluenced in some ways that
made me feel comfortableapplying to these service jobs.
Food service, so you know I'vebeen a waitress, a busser, I've
been most of the front of thehouse.
Like I have worked in groceriesbefore, like a Chinese grocer
(37:56):
I've actually worked at Wholey's.
Oh, wow, yeah.
Doug (38:05):
So I've been around the fishes during the summertime I
have done several demos atWholey's.
I love Wholey's, I loveWholey's.
HongChing (38:14):
It was such a great like environment and just like a
great insight into food, Ithink.
Well, that's why I'm like socompelled by this product that I
have this experience of youknow, eating healthy at home you
know, and when I went tocollege, there was a lack of
opportunity to cook in thekitchen there's a lot of
cafeteria food, and so you knowit made me want to live a better
lifestyle.
It's just off of what my, my dadhad cooked me and just you know
(38:37):
, working in the food industryand seeing like the ins and out,
you know you get to have anunderstanding of what is, I
guess, what is I don't sayhealthy, what is like good for
you yeah personally because Iknow, like the restaurant food,
you know there's good restaurantfood and bad restaurant food.
Doug (38:52):
So there's a lot of hidden fat and sodium and things that
don't really work so well withus over time.
HongChing (38:57):
Yes, yeah so, just you know, always, I always keep
in mind that, like you know, asa child I hate my dad's cooking.
I would bring fried rice toschool, right, and I was like,
oh, like I don't want to eatthis, and all all my friends are
like, oh my gosh, like you got,can I have that?
So it was such an opposite.
But as I have gone older, it'slike, wow, I really appreciate
(39:18):
him making these like type offood every day for me and, you
know, just providing some typeof greens every day.
So it just has a big impact onme.
Doug (39:29):
I find that so many folks start to appreciate what their
parents did when we're older meincluded and also that you're
appreciating, really, that homefood, that family food and I
think that's one of the sharedthings I hear on the show again
and again.
And you both grew up in veryfood centric worlds then, yeah,
amazing, and now you're carvingout this whole new niche.
(39:50):
Congratulations, thank you.
Yeah, thank you.
HongChing (39:54):
It's definitely just very different from what I have
planned.
Growing in a very traditionalChinese household, I personally
have gone through the wholecollege experience.
I'm the first generation to goto college so it's like this
expectation to kind of likefollow through with going to
(40:16):
college with the major and usingthat major to your career, and
I think by like stepping back abit was it's a bit hard, it's
different and, you know, justkind of breaking out that mold
of like what is right in in.
I guess in the mindset of mytraditional household.
Doug (40:36):
What does your family think of this venture?
What do they think of HealthyHeartbeets?
HongChing (40:40):
I think they're still trying to take it in.
It's a difficult conceptbecause it's so far from like
what we see in movies or what wesee in our daily society of
like okay, you do like a nine tofive, so trying to tell my mom
that, like, oh, my hours are allover, all over the place.
Doug (41:01):
Right, whatever you need them to be or want them to be.
HongChing (41:04):
That doesn't really resonate.
It doesn't compute but, it will, but she knows I'm doing
something and she knows that Ilove what I do.
So it's like, okay, she's happy, she's happy for me.
I think that's all she caresabout.
It's like am I happy?
I'm happy.
So, whether it was like a nineto five or not, I'm having a
(41:24):
good life.
I think that's all.
It comes down to whether theyunderstand that concept or not.
Doug (41:29):
You, they understand that concept or not.
You're applying skills.
You're doing things.
You've done so many things thatthey did expect and now you're
breaking out on your own.
Hannah (41:35):
Yeah.
Doug (41:37):
Julian, what does your family think of the business?
Julian (41:39):
They love the idea of me doing this.
A lot of my family members arein some type of business and
whatnot In food In food as well.
My immediate family, my dad hada hot dog cart oh wow, which
was so much fun.
He like retired from Amtrak andneeded something to do and so
(42:00):
that was like my first foodbusiness that I kind of went
into.
We did that together for yearsand that was super fun.
Yeah, so since I've talkedabout wanting to have a business
and do that most of my adultlife, you know they're very
supportive, and now that thisproduct is actually like gaining
some traction and everything,it's a little bit more exciting.
(42:21):
Yes, which is cool, it's real.
It's real, it's happening.
It's always nice to catch upwith the family and they're just
like all right, how's it doingthis and that and everything.
Which is cool.
Yeah.
Doug (42:34):
I think that's a great springboard to ask what is next.
I know you've launched thewebsite.
Folks can buy the product there.
You've done the markets.
What are some other next stepgoals for you with the business?
Julian (42:48):
The next step will be to get into some smaller grocery
stores around the size of likethe East End Co op.
We're hoping to get in there.
We've sent some emails outOther specialty shops that we
think it would do well in wouldbe like the Millvale Market or
Mayfly, things like that to testthose areas and see how well it
(43:09):
moves.
Doug (43:10):
Are you in Linea Verde right now?
Did you do that?
Julian (43:13):
Yes, okay, we are in the green market.
Gina, love Gina.
Doug (43:18):
We can relate.
Gina has given so manyopportunities to so many people.
I know that the broth mongerhas sold soup out of there and
just a lot of other like coolthings, so folks need to check
her out over in Bloomfield aswell.
Julian (43:29):
Oh yeah, Gina is like the mom of Bloomfield she is,
it's great.
Doug (43:35):
All right, so well, let's do this.
So if folks are interestedright now, why don't we give
them the website and your socialhandles?
HongChing (43:44):
So our website is healthyheartbeets.
com.
Beets like the vegetable.
Doug (43:49):
Yeah, B-E-E-T-S.
B-e-e-t-s.
HongChing (43:55):
Yes, beats like the vegetable b-e-e-t-s.
And as for our instagram handle.
Doug (43:57):
It's healthy underscore heartbeets, so people should
give that a follow, for surewe'll love it, thank you all
right, so we're coming to theend of our time.
I'm going to ask you a questionyou can both answer separately.
The name of the show is ThePittsburgh Dish.
What's the best dish you'veeaten this past week?
HongChing (44:12):
oh wait, I need a second to think on that.
I love food, so it's like whatdid I eat?
This?
Julian (44:19):
I know me too.
Oh, that's, uh, that's a goodone.
So last week, uh, my friendsget together on thursdays and
have like a nice group dinnerand whatnot and uh, last week's
was pretty good.
It was like nice and simple.
It was just some salmon, rice,veggies.
My roommate made like thisreally nice sauce to go with it.
(44:42):
It was like a yogurt base, hadsome things in it, really helped
elevate it and that wasdefinitely the best thing I had.
Doug (44:50):
Best bites for Julian last week.
Yeah, the salmon dinner withfriends.
Yeah, all right, soundsdelicious.
HongChing (44:56):
I actually my partner and I we love this dish so much
because it's my comfort foodand it's called mapo tofu.
Doug (45:04):
Mapo tofu yeah.
HongChing (45:05):
So tofu with minced pork over rice it's such a like.
For me it's like a fall dishbecause it's like steamy and
warm, it's all in the bowl.
So if your hands are cold youjust kind of cup the bowl as a
pan warmer.
And I love it.
It's such a cozy and I lovespicy food.
Spicy food is like my numberone thing, so it really just
incorporates all the nicetexture of the tofu and the beef
(45:26):
all on top of rice, kind ofjust melts on top of it.
It's delicious, I love it andit's always my go-to for like a
bad day.
Doug (45:35):
Oh, so best bite of the week for you.
HongChing (45:37):
Yes.
Julian (45:38):
It's like we need to make a spicy heartbeets yeah.
Doug (45:41):
Maybe a little cayenne or something in there.
Okay, there's new ideas.
HongChing (45:47):
I was thinking about applesauce with heartbeets.
So that's still in the works,but we'll see how that turns out
.
Doug (45:52):
I mean, there's so many applications.
I just wish you all the bestand I think the sky's the limit,
Thank you.
Thanks, HongChing, Julian.
Thank you both so much forbeing on The Pittsburgh Dish.
Julian (46:03):
Oh, thank you for having us.
HongChing (46:04):
This has been great.
It's been wonderful, thank you.
Doug (46:08):
And, as we mentioned earlier, if you find yourself in
the Wheeling West Virginia area, check out Figaretti's
Restaurant for their longtimefamily-run Italian standbys and
that signature spaghetti sauceso good, that's our show for
this week.
We'd like to thank all of ourguests and contributors, and to
Kevin Solecki of CarnegieAccordion Company for providing
(46:30):
the music to our show.
We'll be back again next weekwith another fresh episode.
Stay tuned.
Welcome to The Pittsburgh Dish.
I'm your host, Doug Heilman.
Have you ever thought aboutcreating and selling your own
original food product?
We talk to the businesspartners of Healthy Heartbeets
and learn about their journey.
But first up, do you need somehelp with your holiday baking?
Maybe it's not your strong suit.
(00:23):
Help with your holiday bakingMaybe it's not your strong suit.
Well, we catch up withPittsburgh Dish guest alum
Hannah Olsen and learn howBatch's Bakehouse might be able
to help you out.
All that ahead, stay tuned.
The Pittsburgh Dish issupported by Chip and Kale
plant-based meals.
Head to their website at www.
chipandkale.
com and use code DISH to save onyour next order.
(00:47):
Now on to the show.
Let's give a call to our friendHannah Olsen of Aycho Melange
Macarons.
She recently opened a sharedbaking space for small makers
like her and they're starting todo pop-ups for the holidays and
other special events.
Let's give her a call.
Hannah (01:09):
Hey, Doug.
Doug (01:10):
Hey, hannah, how are you?
Hannah (01:12):
I'm doing good.
How are you?
Doug (01:13):
I'm great.
It is so nice to hear yourvoice.
It's been too long.
Hannah (01:17):
I know it has been a little bit, but we've both been
very busy, so it'sunderstandable.
Doug (01:21):
Right, so I really wanted to catch up with you, since we
talked last way back on episodefive.
Since then you can you believethat I know it's been so long
You've opened a shared bakingspace.
Can you remind our listenerswhat the name is?
Hannah (01:37):
Yeah, of course.
So my shared kitchen is Batch'sBakehouse.
Doug (01:41):
Okay, and so now this is the home of your macaron making
Aycho Melange Macarons andseveral other smaller makers
like you.
Is that right?
Hannah (01:51):
Yes, correct, so I was my very first tenant, so I mean,
you know, I had to believe inmyself, of course.
So Aycho Melange does operateout of the Bakehouse, as well as
, at this point, about sevenother businesses, and we have
two that are waiting on theirturn to get through the
Allegheny County HealthDepartment system.
(02:11):
So by the end of the year we'llhopefully have nine people on
board, which is astounding to me.
You know, I was really hopingwhen I started I think I got my
license at the end of June toget the bakehouse open.
So to have this many peoplethat have responded to this
little bakehouse and show theneed for it has just been like
(02:32):
so great.
But yeah, we have.
We have a lot of great bakersand we actually even have an
alumni member already.
Evanly Bakes was with us for ashort time while he had his
Honeycomb fundraiser and got hisnew shop up and running.
So we're so proud of him andhis new bakery in New Kensington
that literally just opened.
I believe over the weekend theyhad their soft opening.
(02:54):
So, it's amazing.
Doug (02:56):
Yeah, as we're recording, we're just past the sort of
Black Friday weekend and I willsay Evanly Bakes is on my list
of folks to talk to.
Hannah (03:04):
He would be a great candidate to talk to.
He has a great story and he'sjust very well-spoken.
I love Evan, so definitelyrecommend you chat with him.
Doug (03:13):
Well, I want to get back to you too.
Can you remind our listenerssome of the places that they can
pick up your macarons right now?
Hannah (03:20):
Oh yeah, of course.
So you can get Aycho Melangemacarons a few doors down from
the bakehouse at Hilltop Coffee.
They were my very firstwholesale partner and I'm so
proud to still have them onboard.
We also sell retail packs atArm Full Flowers.
We often have packs at TheCheese Queen over on Brownsville
Road.
We sell individual macaronsthrough Carnegie Coffee and
(03:45):
seasonally in the summers wepartner with Frosty Cone in
Elizabeth PA to do Macaron IceCream Sandwiches and, I'm sure,
oh and Generosta off theWarrendale exit, Generosta Cafe.
Oh yeah, I need to keep abetter running list because I'm
always like adding one more atthe end when I remember.
Doug (03:59):
Well, you're doing really well off the cuff, because you
didn't know I was going to askthat.
Oh, thank you.
I want to ask one more question.
So I know you have these nineor so bakers and the bakehouse
itself is not necessarily forretail, but you're starting to
do pop-ups.
I know you did one in aroundthe Thanksgiving time and you're
going to do one coming up soon.
Can you remind us first whereis Batch's Bakehouse located?
Hannah (04:24):
Great question, great place to start.
So Batch's Bakehouse is inArlington, the neighborhood of
Arlington, in the city ofPittsburgh, on Arlington Avenue.
A lot of people think when Isay that their first reaction is
oh, like over by Ala Familia.
We're actually kind of on theother end, maybe like a mile
away from there.
We're right next to HilltopCoffee in Rainy Days Hair Salon.
Doug (04:46):
Perfect and you are having an upcoming event more for,
like, the holiday and Christmasseason, and when is that
happening?
Hannah (04:54):
So we are having our second pop-up bakehouse bake
sale on Sunday, December 22nd.
It'll be from 11 am to 2 pm andthe way it works is all of the
member businesses that areavailable will have their own
little pop-up table.
And we invite the neighborhood,we invite all of our customers
(05:15):
and friends you know everybodyto come into the bakehouse,
which you typically can't do butto come in and meet the members
and shop their goods.
And it's a really good way,especially positioning it right
before the holiday, as we didfor the first one and this one
to kind of like stock up and getall of the different goods you
might want for brunch or for anevening event or for gifting,
(05:35):
all in one space.
And obviously it encouragesthese mostly very new businesses
to keep going and it helps themgrow and it gives them exposure
.
And it was really great and youknow it's.
It was really great the firstevent we did.
I was obviously very nervous,because that's the kind of
person I am, but you know it wasmy first event.
You never know how it's goingto go, who's going to show up,
(05:56):
and we had five of our vendorsparticipate.
Every single one of them soldat least 98% of the product they
brought, or all of it, most ofthem totally sold out and I it
was just so great that in thewhole reason for doing this
pop-up it's not for the bakehouses benefit, it's for the
small businesses.
So to see their reaction andyou know it went so well that
they said can we do this againnext month?
(06:18):
So we decided that we would doanother one for Christmas and
then we'll we'll pick a dateafter that, maybe for, like
Valentine's day, but it'llhopefully be something that we
can continue to have as long asthere's interest shown for our
members.
Doug (06:34):
How wonderful.
I love the timing, especiallyfor folks that are not bakers or
cookie makers or something.
They can come by really soon,pick something up and get to
know some of those vendors andthen, just like you told us
where you vend regularly, Iimagine some of these other
bakers also have other spotsthat folks can go to to pick up
their goods.
Hannah (06:54):
Oh, definitely.
Yeah, we had several peoplecoming in for the event we had
just before Thanksgiving andthey said my family's in town,
I'm not doing desserts, I don'tknow how to bake, can I just get
?
And they bought like somethingfrom all of the tables.
Julian (07:08):
And.
Hannah (07:08):
I know you have exactly and Scone Ranger did take and
bake dozens and I know they'redoing that again for this event,
as well as having fresh scones,and I know that they just met
so many new fanatics, becauseonce you have one, it changes
your life.
Doug (07:22):
There are such good products and you are helping
this person who has this passionto do a thing and do it really
well.
Hannah (07:31):
Yeah, that's.
I think my favorite thing aboutthe Bakehouse in general is
that it is really showcasing andgiving, I guess, a platform to
these small businesses that areusually hyper focusedfocused on
a product or a good, and they doit so well because they have a
great story behind it, they havepassion behind it and it's just
a super special, you know,unique product and story that
(07:56):
they can give to a customerthrough their food.
So it is, it's just, it's socool.
Doug (08:01):
I love it so much.
And, Hannah, I just want tomake sure that folks know if
they want to find and follow theBakehouse, where would you
point them to in terms of socialmedia or website, that kind of
thing?
Hannah (08:13):
For the website, you can look up Bakehouse PGH.
com.
And then for socials.
We're on Facebook and Instagram.
Both are Batches Bakehouse.
You'll see our big purple logowith a B as our little profile
badge, so you'll know you're atthe right spot.
Doug (08:32):
Oh, how perfect.
And just a little side note ifyou do have another aspiring
baker vendor creator out therethat would want to join in, is
it the website that they can goto then to find more information
?
Hannah (08:43):
Oh, definitely, yeah, we have an intake form on the
website that they can go to thento find more information.
Oh, definitely, yeah, we havean intake form on the website.
If there's anybody that'sinterested in joining the
Bakehouse or just chatting about, you know what's involved.
If you're new to the idea ofhaving a business, I would
definitely recommend that.
I'm always happy to answerquestions over DM.
But if you fill out the intakeform, that will kind of
eliminate a lot of the follow upback and forth.
All right, kind of eliminate alot of the follow-up back and
forth.
Doug (09:04):
All right.
Hannah Olsen, thank you so muchfor everything you're doing,
not only with your own business,making macarons, which are
amazing, but also providing thespace for so many other aspiring
bakers and creators out there.
Hannah (09:18):
Oh my gosh.
Well, of course, and thank youfor the kind words that's, I
love it and you know I justappreciate that it's helping
people, so I can't wait.
Hopefully we'll see you at thebake sale and anyone listening.
I know I know we're.
It's a very busy time of yearbut for anyone listening, if you
come by, let us know if youheard about it on the podcast.
We'll have a little specialsomething for you, for sure we
(09:39):
would love that.
Doug (09:41):
Hannah Olsen, thank you so much once again for being on
The Pittsburgh Dish and happyholidays of course you too.
Up next.
I first met our next two guestswhen I was invited to Fulton
Commons as a panelist judge forfolks that are creating their
own small businesses, typicallyaround consumer packaged food
(10:01):
goods.
Let's hear more about thejourney of business partners
Julian and Hong Ching withHealthy Heartbeats.
Thank you both so much forcoming over and for being on the
show.
Would you take a moment just tointroduce yourselves?
Julian (10:16):
Sure, I am Julian Figaretti from Wheeling West
Virginia.
HongChing (10:21):
My name is HongChing Cheung and I'm from Pittsburgh,
PA.
Doug (10:25):
And can you describe for our listeners what you have
going on right now in the worldof food?
Julian (10:32):
Yes, absolutely so.
We have a very fun healthyproduct called Healthy
Heartbeets, spelled like thevegetable, yeah, b-e-e-t-s.
Yep, it is featuring beetpowder, which is amazing for you
, and then it's just beet powder, chia seeds and hemp seeds, so
three actually natural foods.
(10:52):
Three natural foods very goodfor you and are just a great
addition to your diet in yourlife.
Doug (10:59):
I love it.
I met you all at Fulton Commons.
You've gone through the foodaccelerator program there to
develop this product and haveyou finished that?
HongChing (11:09):
program we did yeah.
Doug (11:12):
What do we call it?
Consumer packaged good.
Consumer packaged food product.
I know folks probably haven'theard of your product that much
yet, so we're going to talkabout it in detail.
But if they are interestedright away in buying the product
, is it available for sale rightnow?
Julian (11:28):
Yep right on the website .
Okay.
Doug (11:29):
And so we'll talk about the website later.
And I also noticed did you guysrecently do some farmer's
markets?
Are you starting into that aswell?
Julian (11:37):
As many tabling opportunities as we could get
and luckily Fulton Commonsstarted a new farmer's market.
Yes and we were able to get aspot there and table and
everything.
Doug (11:48):
How did that go?
HongChing (11:49):
Oh, that was wonderful.
It was our first time um and wegot a lot of great feedback and
they love the packaging um, butwe've done it twice with them,
right, right, yeah.
And we have um had otheropportunities too, with mind
fuel as well, um, just you know,again tabling, meeting new
people, kind of allying with thehealth and wellness, so it's
(12:11):
been a great opportunity.
Julian (12:12):
And she's being bashful.
She did a fantastic job withthe whole setup for the table
and everything and we got a lotof compliments on that itself,
especially when people would askus and find out this was our
first tabling event.
They're like, oh my gosh, thislooks so good Well let me ask
that.
Doug (12:32):
So you guys are partners in this endeavor.
How do you divide the work here, or is it sort of still up in
the air?
HongChing (12:39):
It's interesting because I think we play by our
strengths.
Doug (12:42):
Yes.
HongChing (12:43):
And it kind of just fell into place.
Again I'd say we're prettyopposite of each other, oh, okay
.
Yeah, like you know, again,he's such more of an extrovert
and more of introvert, um, butwe, we do well in those roles
and it kind of like puts aproduct together.
Um, I said we haven't foughtyet but we're, we're waiting,
(13:03):
we're waiting to fight.
It's gonna happen eventually,um, but in terms of roles, um, I
do most of the um, I guess,like behind the scenes, like the
marketing part.
Yes, digital marketing thewebsite more of the operations
and I like behind the scenes,like the marketing part, digital
marketing the website more ofthe operations.
And I mean Julian can talk onhis behalf about the production
part.
Julian (13:21):
Yeah, so I have a bit of a food background and so I was
taking on the production side ofthings in the kitchen, setting
up how things are going to go inthere, try to figure out the
best process and all the littlethings like that to make it flow
smoothly.
Doug (13:40):
Do you put the product together in the Fulton Commons
kitchen?
Yes, oh yeah, it's an amazingfacility.
Julian (13:46):
It is yeah, pittsburgh is very much lacking in like
that part of the infrastructurefor consumer packaged goods, in
like that part of theinfrastructure for consumer
packaged goods, cpgs and theyare definitely one of like the
nicest bridges into that realm.
Yeah.
Doug (14:01):
Having that certified kitchen and it's a shared space.
A lot of folks rent a littleparticular part of the space,
but you have all kinds ofequipment if you need it and
storage cold and hot and allthat wonderful stuff.
Oh yeah, they did it upright,that's for sure.
So, Julian, you mentioned thatthere's a lot of health benefits
to the product.
Julian (14:22):
I would just like to explore for our listeners how
folks use your product to how Istarted using the product and
had like kind of the inceptionof this idea was back in 2017 or
2018.
My parents bought a beet powderproduct off of a commercial
(14:44):
okay, and.
I was like oh.
I don't know.
And then I started using it andit turns out this stuff
actually really works.
It helps out with blood flow.
It has a lot of nitric oxideand blood flows through your
body better, has a lot of healthbenefits.
But it really helps out withphysical activities as well and
I'm a very active person and Iwould be doing like two, three
(15:06):
or four sports in a day and Idefinitely noticed a big
difference in just like how muchendurance I had, how quickly I
recovered in during sports andall sorts of stuff.
Doug (15:19):
Beets naturally lower blood pressure a little bit too.
So it's not just for someonethat's going out and doing all
the sports, but anyone that'slooking to have a healthier
moment in their diet right.
Julian (15:30):
Yeah, that's one thing we've talked about with our
marketing is that people aretrying to be healthier and
figure that out, and it doesn'thave to be a complete overhaul
of your entire life andeverything you eat.
If you could just start to dolittle things like that, like
one scoop in something youalready eat, you know, you just
did good for your body yeah, andthe chia and the hemp.
Doug (15:53):
Keep me honest, it's.
It's adding some fiber, othernutrients in there as well right
.
Julian (15:58):
Oh yeah, they're packed with nutrients.
Hemp seeds are one of the onlycomplete proteins in the plant
world.
I know there's others out there.
And then they have vitamins andminerals, iron they both have
omegas, which are really goodfor you, high in fiber, and just
like the list goes on with allthe micronutrients.
They have going on Wonderful.
Doug (16:19):
Hongqing.
How have you seen folks use theproduct?
Are there any recipes or thingsthat you're putting it into to
give a wide variety of use?
HongChing (16:29):
Yeah, so definitely is a challenge for our customers
to figure out what to use.
We try to like kind of givethem a gateway is like OK, like
smoothies.
Smoothies are your basic,simple way to add nutrition.
But I know not everyone's intosmoothies.
So we have actually developedsome recipes together to kind of
(16:50):
make it more versatile.
So, for example, I have addthis um making my hummus, oh
yeah yeah, so it's a veryinteresting um.
I mean, it's the same texture,just a little bit more seeds
around um, but it's such avibrant color, like when you dip
your chips in.
It's just a lot more fun, it'svery instagrammable.
Doug (17:08):
Yes, it really is I like that idea of having the, the
hemp and the chia in hummus togive it a little crunch to the
hummus.
HongChing (17:15):
Yes, and that kind of goes the same, because I've
eaten rice most of my life, it'sjust kind of part of my culture
, so I've been adding that to myrice as well.
And it has been giving thisreally vibrant, soft orange
coral color.
If you add more, of course, itwould be a deeper pink.
But the seeds, again the crunch, kind of adds that texture.
(17:40):
It's like how you would addrice and quinoa together to kind
of have that texture.
Similar effect.
Um, just made the dish justknow a lot more beautiful.
And again, it's like one stepat a time.
You know it's it's not likewe're doing a full overhaul of
your diet, let's just changeeverything about it, but we're
just slowly incorporating itinto your daily life until
you're comfortable enough tolike move forward with other,
just like healthier habits.
Doug (18:00):
It's just like a new fun ingredient, I think, and you
guys offered me a sample mixedin with yogurt and it looked
amazing, like you said, with thecolor and that little bit of
texture.
I did take a look on yourwebsite and did I also see
pancakes or muffins?
HongChing (18:16):
Pancakes and muffins are a big big one.
Like people who who likes tobake and love to eat muffins in
the morning, they can easilyjust add that into their recipe.
We also have done like peoplewith like sweet tooth, like
cookies are a big one.
Sugar cookies simple recipe.
And it just turns it super pinkwith, like again, a bunch of
(18:37):
seeds.
Doug (18:38):
I know we have done something with like Jak's bakery
um oh yeah, bread over inBloomfield, yes, oh, that's cool
, it's a novel product.
I think you were telling methere are beet powders but there
is nothing on the market withthe chia and the hemp seed too.
So you're giving that textureand that extra protein and other
nutrients.
And I always think about when Igo to a grocery store and I do
(19:01):
buy a new ingredient for thefirst time.
It takes me a while to figureout where I want to use it.
Aside from baking or throwingit in your hummus and your
yogurt and your rice, are thereany other applications you've
seen folks use your product forsome people will just put it in
water, mix it up and drink it.
Julian (19:18):
Okay and uh, or like even hot water, drink it kind of
like tea, like a tea, and thenscoop out the seeds at the end
they love it.
They're just like it's a nicelittle snack.
Oh, wow, um.
And then another friend of ours, that's a customer, would put
it with their peanut butter andmix it in like that.
Yeah, I like this.
Doug (19:38):
Now I do want to say I love beets, but some folks
sometimes don't love thatearthiness of a fresh beet, or
even a fresh cooked beet.
So true, but this is different.
It's a milder flavor.
It doesn't overpower whatyou're mixing it into, correct,
would you agree?
HongChing (19:56):
yeah, just I would like to say that we're like beet
converters you're beetconverters.
I love that because we havegiven out samples where you know
people dislike beets and it'slike oh, actually it's a very
subtle taste yes, I guess, ifyou like, make it right.
You know like you could add asmuch as you want or as less as
you like, and you know you kindof play with your palate a bit.
(20:16):
I mean, we definitely have somemixed reviews from the kids,
but that's like you know that'skids, yeah, but some.
some are surprising, like somekids actually like it.
I think it's partly that youknow if you don't tell them
what's in it?
Doug (20:31):
they like it more until they find out it's like a
vegetable, oh yeah yeah, yeah,sometimes you got to sneak it in
and I think, yes, since it issuch a vibrant color, you
actually might have a good leadfirst to just show, like these
cookies that are bright pink,and then let them try it, and
then maybe tell them later ormaybe don't tell them at all.
Julian (20:48):
So yeah, the one, uh, the one couple with their kids.
They are pretty picky and theonly vegetable they could get in
their diet is to mix spinachwith muffins.
Oh, wow.
And they're like okay, thisgoes perfectly in the muffins
and we're going to be able tofigure out how to hide this in
other things.
So their kids actually eat somevegetables, which is such a
(21:11):
great application.
I can relate, because I was anincredibly picky kid and did not
have good nutrition.
For sure I wouldn't eatanything, and now you're a
convert.
Oh yeah, Such a convert.
There's almost nothing that Iwon't eat or try.
Doug (21:26):
What I love about this story is it's those little moves
that you said earlier.
You're just getting people tokind of step in a little closer
into healthy lifestyle or throwthis secret ingredient into
something to make it a littlehealthier.
So I think it's veryapproachable.
I also love that we talkedabout it being both for sweet or
savory items, because there isno sugar.
(21:46):
We are talking truly just threeingredients, right?
Yes, oh, that's amazing.
Julian (21:52):
Yeah, people love that.
Doug (21:53):
On a package now ingredients right, yes, oh,
that's amazing.
Yeah, people love that on apackage.
Now I I did want to say I wantto take a step back.
You had mentioned about thepackaging.
Your logo is super cute.
Who did that little beet heartlogo?
Julian (22:04):
so I had uh like a vision for that over the years
to try to mix like a heart and abeet together, okay, uh.
And then I've had like a couplepeople draw stuff for me and
then I just went on fiverr andhad a freelancer do that up for
me it was super easy.
It was like, okay, this is,this is right in the ballpark of
(22:25):
what I wanted, and then we hada graphic designer do like an
initial package for us and like,clean that logo up.
Doug (22:32):
Yeah.
Julian (22:33):
And there we go.
That's.
That's where the logo came from.
Doug (22:36):
The packaging looks really beautiful the latest one that I
saw.
Oh, thank you.
HongChing (22:40):
Thank you.
Doug (22:41):
You're actually stepping me into my next sort of train of
thought opening a business andcreating a product from an idea.
Can you tell us a little bitmore about that journey?
Where did it start?
How did you get going?
Where do you feel you are rightnow?
HongChing (22:57):
So I guess different timelines here.
I kind of came on to thebusiness a bit later, but I'm
going to have Julian talk aboutthe beginnings.
I guess how we met might be theflourishing part of it.
Julian (23:10):
Oh yeah, definitely, I was on my own for a long time.
I had the initial idea incollege, back in like 2018, that
I wanted to start a business ofsome sort and I was really
interested in industrial hemp atthe time.
Okay, and my family comes fromfood like we have a restaurant
(23:31):
and everything, oh, wow.
So I figured, okay, okay, I'llgo, I'll go the food route and
I'll do.
Hemp seeds started.
The llc.
That realized very quicklycan't really compete with these
giant companies that are alreadyselling that and whatnot.
So I was like, okay, I have todo something else and make
something new.
And and that coincided withwhat I mentioned earlier trying
(23:55):
beet powder for the first timeand I was like, okay, can I?
Is this in anything else?
And it wasn't like it was justa supplement at the time and I
was like, oh my gosh, I think Ihave something here.
Doug (24:07):
Light bulb moment.
Julian (24:07):
Yeah, for real.
I can almost remember themoment that that happened and I
started experimenting and tryingto figure out what I can make
and I knew I wanted toincorporate the hemp seeds and
the beet powder.
Chia seeds just kind ofnaturally ended up in there.
And.
I made a drink out of it, whichI'm not a food scientist, so
(24:29):
didn't know how to make thatshelf stable.
It was definitely really good.
Would love to do that productin the future.
But then I just played withthat recipe and made a snack out
of it, these little strips thatactually launched that product
on the market two or three yearsago now, I forget, and that did
you know.
Moderately okay, but I didn'thave a great plan, not that
(24:53):
organized of a person myself, soit was kind of amazing.
I even made it that far aloneand worked on that for a little
while, a little more than a year, and the production side of
things because there's adehydration component makes it
way like very long, a littletricky, a little tricky to get
(25:13):
all that right and to get intoplaces.
So then I put that product onpause and not long after around
the time I put it on pause, alsohad the idea wonder if people
would just buy this as a powder.
And then, uh, HongC hing stepson the scene.
Uh, thank god.
(25:34):
Uh.
So I work at a climbing gym intown iron city boulders and she
was doing some marketing for thegym and we just ended up in a
conversation and I had mentionedthat I was doing.
Uh, you know, I had a foodbusiness and she was like do you
want some help?
HongChing (25:52):
oh so, I think what like I guess a few steps back.
I was working for a digitalmarketing firm for about three
years, so I did a lot of likeGoogle ads, facebook, social
media and I just noticed that,like my work and life balance
wasn't really up to just itwasn't really great for me
personally and I loved what Idid.
(26:13):
So it was really hard to partways just at the moment, but I
did just like trying to realignmyself and figure out like what
other things I'd like to do ormy routines and just eating
(26:35):
healthier and being more active.
After I resigned from my job,so I took on freelance work.
Julian (26:43):
And.
HongChing (26:43):
I was working with Iron City Boulders with their
marketing.
They didn't have anything setup at the time so it was really
fun for me to just be able toexplore different ideas and kind
of like pitch it out there andsee what works and didn't work,
just using my knowledge highlycreative.
Yeah, it was, it was like abreath of fresh air to just
learn.
Take everything I learned andlike recreate it to to my
(27:06):
standards how I won it andthat's I know.
I've heard that Julian here hada business and, you know, since
I was like freelancing, I'mstill trying to figure out
myself it was like, oh, I havetime, I have.
You know, like I want to learnother type of skills, so I
offered um Julian, like, hey,like, would you like to get your
website redone for free?
Doug (27:27):
just I was like please help me oh my gosh, this is the
side that you had been missing,Julian.
Julian (27:32):
Oh, so much so I had been asking the world for a
partner for so long, so itfinally got heard.
HongChing (27:39):
It was really funny because I actually started like
the first week of January ofthis year.
We were very consistent, youknow.
I was like, okay, look, I'mwilling to help, I love
marketing.
So like, if you're about this,I will go in on you with this.
So you're, if you're about this, I will go in on you with this.
So you know he gave me a sampleto try again, this is just a
website, so I wasn't like soinvested the time.
(28:00):
It's like, okay, I'm just heretrying to like improve my
skillset and you know I try theproduct and it's like, oh, I
really like this Like.
I never really got into beets.
It's not a vegetable I wouldpick up from the grocery store
(28:20):
out of the blue.
So trying the sample for thefirst time, just like adding it
again.
Okay, the first time I had it, Ikind of just ate it out of the
sample packet because, like.
I like the mix.
Yeah, it's a little crunchy,it's a bit country I didn't add
it to what?
no, I just I, I liked the way itactually just like felt good
texture, good texture.
I was definitely great textureand after that I was like, oh,
like.
Julian (28:33):
I liked the way it actually just like felt Good
texture, good texture.
I was shocked Definitely greattexture.
HongChing (28:36):
And after that I was like, oh, like I'm seeing the
benefits like alongside with,like being healthier and eating,
like being more active andeating healthier and having a
sample and like consistentlyusing it for I guess, until it
was gone, like I definitely feltthere was an improvement in my
energy.
It's like, oh, the more I workedworked the website too the more
I really aligned with, like youknow, the health benefits I
(28:59):
just aligned with, like thevision yes um, that julian had,
and it just, you know, reallymade a lot of sense that we
partnered up, and you know,again, we're both very opposite
of each other, so it really putus in a great spot.
Yes, to develop this producteven farther.
Doug (29:14):
A great compliment to one another, yeah.
Julian (29:18):
This is Julian Figaretti .
HongChing (29:20):
And this is HongChing Cheung.
We're the co-owners of HealthyHeartbeats, and you're listening
to The Pittsburgh Dish.
Doug (29:28):
I wanted to ask too when did you get into Fulton, into
that program of the accelerator?
It's like a speaking series,isn't it?
And then they give you a coupleof tasks to do.
Julian (29:41):
Yes, so they started out .
This was the second yearthey've done something like this
.
Initially they only had anincubator which is a little bit
shorter.
Typically if you have an ideaor a concept and now you need to
know a bunch of knowledgearound that in a business in
that industry.
So they put that on in May andDarcy, the girl that was running
(30:04):
it, she had reached out becauseshe had somehow heard that I
had a business.
Doug (30:10):
And you were a little further along, maybe than even
what this incubator was meant todo, right?
Julian (30:14):
yeah, just a little bit, because we had the LLC
established and working off ofthat and, you know, pretty much
had a product, just didn't haveall the rest of the stuff around
it yet.
Yes, the support, yes HongChing support yes 100 percent, uh
.
And so then we got into theincubator in May and that was
(30:36):
the first round of gettingthrough that process and, you
know, relearning a bunch ofstuff, because I studied
business in college but havingit focused on, you know, food
and packaged foods was reallygood.
Food and packaged foods wasreally good.
So then we went back for theaccelerator program, which is
longer, more in-depth, and endedup pitching at that contest and
(30:58):
that's where we met you.
That's right.
Both of the events.
HongChing (31:02):
So we've been through a far journey since we started,
even with the first incubatorprogram.
I know the accelerator programis the one that we finished off.
We both, of course, havebusiness um in college as well,
but it's a great refresher to tokind of learn back the basic
and go back to the drawing boardand just kind of like check off
things that we have done orhaven't done.
(31:24):
And with that first program Ifeel like we have like
established so much on the like,I guess, governmental part of
it, you know, getting all theforms ready and my favorite the
legal, the legal side of things.
Yeah the legal side things andhad definitely opened up our
eyes about, like rebranding ourpackage um just like figuring
out if this is like the rightmaterial for our package or
(31:46):
should we go with the box, andso you know, like that helped us
just kind of a baseline ofthings.
So when we went into a sellerprogram we were more like put
together, and so now we havethese other questions I can like
add on top of what we werealready doing.
Doug (32:02):
So much growth since you started.
I would imagine, too, going toschool for business but not
having your own product or yourown business at the time.
Right, it's very hypothetical.
But going through these otherprograms, you had the prize
already in mind.
You have this business and thisproduct that you're working on,
so what could be better?
Right?
Julian (32:21):
Oh, yeah, for sure.
If you're going into anindustry and actually pursuing
an idea, find a program likethat.
There is definitely anincubator in a city somewhere
close by that is in yourindustry, and learning in person
like that is so beneficialthrough that consumer packaged
(32:42):
food product, if that's whatyou're looking to do.
Doug (32:43):
So I wanted to pivot a little bit.
We've heard a little bit aboutwhere you're from, but I'd love
to ask more, just about the bothof you.
Julian, I think I've picked up.
You're from West Virginia, wentto school for business.
I was curious when youmentioned your family had a
(33:04):
restaurant.
Tell me a little bit more aboutthat.
Julian (33:06):
Yeah, absolutely.
The family restaurantFigaretti's in wheeling west
virginia, started in 1949 whoayeah, it's been around quite a
while now.
Uh, my grandfather and his fourbrothers they basically quit
where they were doing andstarted a restaurant and then my
great-grandmother was the onewho, like, originally, made the
(33:27):
sauce and everything that kindof stuff at the time.
I'm pretty sure it got my greatuncles.
A couple of them were doingdifferent things, so everybody
just went in together the whole,all the relatives, just piled
into this venture yeah, and sothen that's been a staple of
wheeling for a very long timenow and back in I'm forgetting
(33:50):
the dates but like the 80s orthe 90s my one cousin started
the sauce factory and jarringthe sauce selling that around
town.
And then he's grown that overthe years and now his brother is
the owner of the restaurant.
They work in conjunctiontogether.
So Sauce Factory obviouslyprovides all the sauce and
(34:11):
everything and the meatballs,that kind of stuff.
They do a lot of thatproduction and then, uh, the
restaurant is a staple, stillgoing strong, still going strong
.
Doug (34:21):
And say it again, figure eddie's restaurant in wheeling,
in wheeling all right, there'smy, there's our, there's our
restaurant of the week, probablyshameless plug.
Julian (34:28):
Of course we have to.
Doug (34:31):
So, Julian, you really grew up in food all your life
and you're venturing out into atotally different direction in
this like health product kind ofoh yeah, food.
All right, I love it.
And did you go to school inwest virginia?
Yeah, at WVU all right forbusiness yep, okay, yeah, I
bounced around to.
Julian (34:49):
That was my fifth major that.
Doug (34:51):
I ended on.
Sometimes we've got to findourselves.
Julian (34:54):
Oh yeah, for sure, major number one, finance, was not
happening for me.
I was like wait, no, this isn'twhat I thought it was.
Doug (35:03):
And I also you mentioned you have a healthy lifestyle,
did I see?
Rock climbing is like a thingfor you, right?
Yeah, this is why beet powderand all of its benefits really
help out.
Julian (35:12):
It is very pertinent to the sports that I do.
For sure, my main sportsnowadays are rock climbing, of
course, like I coach our youthteam and do some private
coaching, but I also lovewhitewater sports.
You know the season, you knowwhen it's a little warmer I
don't do any winter boating.
It's a little chilly.
Yeah, it's a little late inseason't do any winter boating a
(35:33):
little chilly.
Yeah, it's a little late inseason for me.
I don't have a dry suit oranything okay um, and then
running basketball, disc golf,tennis, a lot, of, a lot of
sports.
I like to dabble a couplethings, just a couple, yeah hong
ching you mentioned you grew upin pittsburgh yes, um, I
actually immigrated here when Iwas two years old.
HongChing (35:52):
Yeah, my family and I are originally from Hong Kong.
Okay, so our aunt sponsored usand we're in the United States,
but the rest is history.
Most of my family, my mom andmy dad, are both all in Hong
Kong, so we're the only familyhere, beyond my aunt and my
uncle, and did you go to schoollocally as well.
(36:14):
I did.
I went to Chatham University.
I also kind of like switchedaround like Julian did.
I did start out withinternational business but then,
like, based on the job market,I was like, oh gosh, maybe I'm
not going to find a job here.
So I went to accounting andthen about, I think, my junior
year, I realized how much Ihated accounting.
It just wasn't really for me.
(36:35):
It was like, oh, this, thisisn't really, uh, aligned with
what I really wanted.
So I switched to marketing.
But I still love the likeinternational background of it.
So I of course, ended up justdouble majoring the
international business andmarketing of course you did like
it just aligned well, like witheach other.
It's like oh, okay, I do likethis.
(36:57):
And yeah, I mean I dabbled infood.
I guess, like throughoutcollege and even high school I
worked in a lot of umrestaurants.
Okay, like my dad was a a cookas well, so he always was the
one to um cook dinner for usevery night.
So I had a lot of homemade,like Chinese cuisine meals that
I still like make today andagain, it's so strange to say
(37:19):
this, but like, as a child Iwasn't really about eating rice
every day.
Doug (37:23):
It's like oh, this is so annoying.
HongChing (37:24):
Like I want a hamburger, like everybody else,
so I want pasta.
Doug (37:27):
Yeah, you wanted to be the westernized kids that you were
probably going to school withExactly.
HongChing (37:32):
And so, as I've grown and it's like wow, actually I
just want to eat rice.
It's plain, it's simple, I canchange up the veggies, change up
the protein.
But he, of course I haveinfluenced in some ways that
made me feel comfortableapplying to these service jobs.
Food service, so you know I'vebeen a waitress, a busser, I've
been most of the front of thehouse.
Like I have worked in groceriesbefore, like a Chinese grocer
(37:56):
I've actually worked at Wholey's.
Oh, wow, yeah.
Doug (38:05):
So I've been around the fishes during the summertime I
have done several demos atWholey's.
I love Wholey's, I loveWholey's.
HongChing (38:14):
It was such a great like environment and just like a
great insight into food, Ithink.
Well, that's why I'm like socompelled by this product that I
have this experience of youknow, eating healthy at home you
know, and when I went tocollege, there was a lack of
opportunity to cook in thekitchen there's a lot of
cafeteria food, and so you knowit made me want to live a better
lifestyle.
It's just off of what my, my dadhad cooked me and just you know
(38:37):
, working in the food industryand seeing like the ins and out,
you know you get to have anunderstanding of what is, I
guess, what is I don't sayhealthy, what is like good for
you yeah personally because Iknow, like the restaurant food,
you know there's good restaurantfood and bad restaurant food.
Doug (38:52):
So there's a lot of hidden fat and sodium and things that
don't really work so well withus over time.
HongChing (38:57):
Yes, yeah so, just you know, always, I always keep
in mind that, like you know, asa child I hate my dad's cooking.
I would bring fried rice toschool, right, and I was like,
oh, like I don't want to eatthis, and all all my friends are
like, oh my gosh, like you got,can I have that?
So it was such an opposite.
But as I have gone older, it'slike, wow, I really appreciate
(39:18):
him making these like type offood every day for me and, you
know, just providing some typeof greens every day.
So it just has a big impact onme.
Doug (39:29):
I find that so many folks start to appreciate what their
parents did when we're older meincluded and also that you're
appreciating, really, that homefood, that family food and I
think that's one of the sharedthings I hear on the show again
and again.
And you both grew up in veryfood centric worlds then, yeah,
amazing, and now you're carvingout this whole new niche.
(39:50):
Congratulations, thank you.
Yeah, thank you.
HongChing (39:54):
It's definitely just very different from what I have
planned.
Growing in a very traditionalChinese household, I personally
have gone through the wholecollege experience.
I'm the first generation to goto college so it's like this
expectation to kind of likefollow through with going to
(40:16):
college with the major and usingthat major to your career, and
I think by like stepping back abit was it's a bit hard, it's
different and, you know, justkind of breaking out that mold
of like what is right in in.
I guess in the mindset of mytraditional household.
Doug (40:36):
What does your family think of this venture?
What do they think of HealthyHeartbeets?
HongChing (40:40):
I think they're still trying to take it in.
It's a difficult conceptbecause it's so far from like
what we see in movies or what wesee in our daily society of
like okay, you do like a nine tofive, so trying to tell my mom
that, like, oh, my hours are allover, all over the place.
Doug (41:01):
Right, whatever you need them to be or want them to be.
HongChing (41:04):
That doesn't really resonate.
It doesn't compute but, it will, but she knows I'm doing
something and she knows that Ilove what I do.
So it's like, okay, she's happy, she's happy for me.
I think that's all she caresabout.
It's like am I happy?
I'm happy.
So, whether it was like a nineto five or not, I'm having a
(41:24):
good life.
I think that's all.
It comes down to whether theyunderstand that concept or not.
Doug (41:29):
You, they understand that concept or not.
You're applying skills.
You're doing things.
You've done so many things thatthey did expect and now you're
breaking out on your own.
Hannah (41:35):
Yeah.
Doug (41:37):
Julian, what does your family think of the business?
Julian (41:39):
They love the idea of me doing this.
A lot of my family members arein some type of business and
whatnot In food In food as well.
My immediate family, my dad hada hot dog cart oh wow, which
was so much fun.
He like retired from Amtrak andneeded something to do and so
(42:00):
that was like my first foodbusiness that I kind of went
into.
We did that together for yearsand that was super fun.
Yeah, so since I've talkedabout wanting to have a business
and do that most of my adultlife, you know they're very
supportive, and now that thisproduct is actually like gaining
some traction and everything,it's a little bit more exciting.
(42:21):
Yes, which is cool, it's real.
It's real, it's happening.
It's always nice to catch upwith the family and they're just
like all right, how's it doingthis and that and everything.
Which is cool.
Yeah.
Doug (42:34):
I think that's a great springboard to ask what is next.
I know you've launched thewebsite.
Folks can buy the product there.
You've done the markets.
What are some other next stepgoals for you with the business?
Julian (42:48):
The next step will be to get into some smaller grocery
stores around the size of likethe East End Co op.
We're hoping to get in there.
We've sent some emails outOther specialty shops that we
think it would do well in wouldbe like the Millvale Market or
Mayfly, things like that to testthose areas and see how well it
(43:09):
moves.
Doug (43:10):
Are you in Linea Verde right now?
Did you do that?
Julian (43:13):
Yes, okay, we are in the green market.
Gina, love Gina.
Doug (43:18):
We can relate.
Gina has given so manyopportunities to so many people.
I know that the broth mongerhas sold soup out of there and
just a lot of other like coolthings, so folks need to check
her out over in Bloomfield aswell.
Julian (43:29):
Oh yeah, Gina is like the mom of Bloomfield she is,
it's great.
Doug (43:35):
All right, so well, let's do this.
So if folks are interestedright now, why don't we give
them the website and your socialhandles?
HongChing (43:44):
So our website is healthyheartbeets.
com.
Beets like the vegetable.
Doug (43:49):
Yeah, B-E-E-T-S.
B-e-e-t-s.
HongChing (43:55):
Yes, beats like the vegetable b-e-e-t-s.
And as for our instagram handle.
Doug (43:57):
It's healthy underscore heartbeets, so people should
give that a follow, for surewe'll love it, thank you all
right, so we're coming to theend of our time.
I'm going to ask you a questionyou can both answer separately.
The name of the show is ThePittsburgh Dish.
What's the best dish you'veeaten this past week?
HongChing (44:12):
oh wait, I need a second to think on that.
I love food, so it's like whatdid I eat?
This?
Julian (44:19):
I know me too.
Oh, that's, uh, that's a goodone.
So last week, uh, my friendsget together on thursdays and
have like a nice group dinnerand whatnot and uh, last week's
was pretty good.
It was like nice and simple.
It was just some salmon, rice,veggies.
My roommate made like thisreally nice sauce to go with it.
(44:42):
It was like a yogurt base, hadsome things in it, really helped
elevate it and that wasdefinitely the best thing I had.
Doug (44:50):
Best bites for Julian last week.
Yeah, the salmon dinner withfriends.
Yeah, all right, soundsdelicious.
HongChing (44:56):
I actually my partner and I we love this dish so much
because it's my comfort foodand it's called mapo tofu.
Doug (45:04):
Mapo tofu yeah.
HongChing (45:05):
So tofu with minced pork over rice it's such a like.
For me it's like a fall dishbecause it's like steamy and
warm, it's all in the bowl.
So if your hands are cold youjust kind of cup the bowl as a
pan warmer.
And I love it.
It's such a cozy and I lovespicy food.
Spicy food is like my numberone thing, so it really just
incorporates all the nicetexture of the tofu and the beef
(45:26):
all on top of rice, kind ofjust melts on top of it.
It's delicious, I love it andit's always my go-to for like a
bad day.
Doug (45:35):
Oh, so best bite of the week for you.
HongChing (45:37):
Yes.
Julian (45:38):
It's like we need to make a spicy heartbeets yeah.
Doug (45:41):
Maybe a little cayenne or something in there.
Okay, there's new ideas.
HongChing (45:47):
I was thinking about applesauce with heartbeets.
So that's still in the works,but we'll see how that turns out
.
Doug (45:52):
I mean, there's so many applications.
I just wish you all the bestand I think the sky's the limit,
Thank you.
Thanks, HongChing, Julian.
Thank you both so much forbeing on The Pittsburgh Dish.
Julian (46:03):
Oh, thank you for having us.
HongChing (46:04):
This has been great.
It's been wonderful, thank you.
Doug (46:08):
And, as we mentioned earlier, if you find yourself in
the Wheeling West Virginia area, check out Figaretti's
Restaurant for their longtimefamily-run Italian standbys and
that signature spaghetti sauceso good, that's our show for
this week.
We'd like to thank all of ourguests and contributors, and to
Kevin Solecki of CarnegieAccordion Company for providing
(46:30):
the music to our show.
We'll be back again next weekwith another fresh episode.
Stay tuned.
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